


In Need of a Signal

by GrinningFlowers



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Frostiron Fest 2013, Jarvis is also a dog, Loki is a shop owner, M/M, Tony is a big business man, You've Got Mail AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 01:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrinningFlowers/pseuds/GrinningFlowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Falling for another is hard enough, but even worse when it's someone who's name you don't even know.</p><p>A love story about email, friends, attractive enemies, and most of all books.</p><p>You've Got Mail AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Need of a Signal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andquitefrankly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andquitefrankly/gifts).



> I apologize if this wasn't what you were hoping for, but I do hope you enjoy it anyhow.
> 
> The moment I saw You've Got Mail AU I had to try and get the prompt, because it's one of my favorite films and I often thought Tony and Loki would be perfect in it~
> 
> Special thanks to itallstartedwithdefenestration/samaelmorningstar for putting up with my shit as I did this.

  


“Loki, listen to this,” Fandral had spoke with a strong sense of annoyance as he walked into he and Loki’s (sometimes) shared room, waking up the latter.

 

“Good morning to you as well,” Loki replied with a tired smile as he stretched, soon slipping out of the bed to walk to the bathroom, “What idiocy do you wish to read for me today from...is that a newspaper?”

 

“Yes, it’s a newspaper, there’s nothing weird about reading them.”

 

“That’s true, if you were not living in the twenty-first century!” Loki couldn’t suppress the laugh in his voice, but soon waved him on, “continue please.”

 

“Thank you,” Fandral sighed, exasperated with him already and it was only seven a.m., “An entire workforce of the state of Virginia had to have their phones prohibited, because they hadn’t done any work in six weeks, spending all their time playing games on them!”

 

“That’s foolish, if they truly want to waste time they’ll just play games on their computers.”

 

“Loki, you’re missing the point!” Fandral spoke urgently, as if this was the information that could change the entire world, “This proves that tech isn’t good for us! You think that thing is your friend,” he motioned to Loki’s closed laptop on his desk, “but it isn’t! You’ll see!”

 

“Aren’t you late?”

 

“Loki, you’re just helping the fall of Western Civilization.”

 

“How terribly sad, I’m sorry. You’re late.”

 

“I am, I’ll see you tonight?”

 

“Of course, we’re ordering sushi.”

 

“Great, I’ll see you then,” He leaned in to kiss Loki briefly, making a face at the taste of toothpaste on Loki’s mouth before leaving for work, bag held to his chest and jacket thrown over his shoulder. Loki laughed softly as the man bolted, having rinsed his mouth and gone to the peephole of the apartment door, watching him descend quickly down the stairs. He waited a moment longer before hurrying over to his desk and dropping down into the cushioned chair.

 

With a soft whirr the computer came to life, the application for Talk2Me immediately coming up to announce a message he’d received. “Someone talked to you!” it announced in a way that reminded Loki of his lonely high school years, something that made a pleasant warmth akin to a fresh cup of tea filling his stomach. He clicked the message, the blue 1 disappearing from the little letter icon and a message opening.

 

_To: ShopKitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: Jarvis_

 

_Hey. I’m not sure why I never talked to you about this, but-_

 

There’s a cold inkling of fear that slides into his stomach as Loki glances up at the subject once more. It was possible he was about to tell him that he had someone in his life named Jarvis, a special someone. Which was a foolish thing to worry over, really it was, Loki had Fandral anyhow.

 

_I have a dog named Jarvis._

 

Oh.

 

_He’s a golden retriever that has better hair than even me. Sometimes I even think that he loves the streets of New York more than idea, which is probably only because of all the “treats” he finds on the ground here. And he’s always around, and I’m not really sure what life would be like without him. Jarvis is well trained, always doing things like bringing me my tablet or phone, somehow never getting scratches on it from his teeth, and barking when my food is ready to make sure I don’t let it burn. I’m sure it’s because he doesn’t want a repeat of the omelette incident, which I will firmly state I am fantastic at making, it was just one accident._

 

_But that’s not the point, he’s a great dog and he’s turning ten in a month. I thought that you should know about such a fantastic creature like him, and had to ask you if you’re willing to part with the information (nothing too personal like you always say): Do you have any pets of your own?_

 

Loki hadn’t expected anything to really come out of it. It was just a silly website, one his co-worker Amora had been talking about. Just something to try when he’d been sighing over recently turning thirty and feeling like he only had the bookshop in his life, the store left to him by his deceased mother.

 

He’d just dropped himself in front of the computer one night and gone to the site, Talk2Me, a chat site where you put in a few of your interests and you’d just be paired up with someone, only knowing their username. His match had taken just a few moments, the name IM152, short and interesting, while Loki’s had been something akin to what a stereotypical teen girl would put as theirs in a ridiculous movie, ShopKitty. Loki had stared at the screen with a nervous excitement, wondering what would happen, a blue speech bubble soon appearing on the screen with the simple greeting: Hey. They’d been talking since, over a year now and each message still gave Loki a sense of nervous excitement.

____

~~~

 

Jarvis let out a soft bark beside Tony, the dog, nuzzling against his thigh soon after, as if he knew that Tony had just sent mail concerning him. Tony scratched the graying retriever behind the ears as he stared at the computer screen with coffee in his hand, and his sort-of-girlfriend’s voice filtered through the open doors to his left, “Honey?”

 

“Yes, Christine?” Tony called back, not sparing so much as a glance as the blonde walked into the room, only wearing one of his white dress shirts.

 

“Have you seen my Armani dress slacks? I can’t seem to find them, and I refuse to go out in anything but it today.”

 

“Why’s that?”

 

“Because Random House fired Benjamin, good riddance, and Killian died, which makes one less person for me to talk to,” she began to explain as she started a cup of coffee from espresso machine, “I need to show compassion which means I need to wear the black suit. Oh and remember that we have the PEN dinner tonight-”

 

“I’m going to that?” Tony didn’t even try to hide his disgust as the prospect of spending hours of his life talking to such insufferable people. As much of a businessman as he was, he’d much rather prefer to stay in his luxurious apartment, planted in front of his computer, with some take-out and Jarvis snoring quietly next to him.

 

“Yes, you promised, Anthony!” No one called him Anthony, except for maybe his mother when she was still alive.

 

“Isn’t it possible for me to just, I don’t know, throw some money at them? Wouldn’t that be easier? You wouldn’t have to risk me pissing off your lovely clients and I could continue my work. Sound fair?”

 

“No, that doesn’t sound fair at all, if I have an impressive boyfriend like you I want to show you off, and I’m sick of you weaseling out of these events,” Christine spoke with a ridiculous sadness in her voice, as if Tony’s attendance would keep her breathing, “and speaking of weasels, Justin Hammer got a good review for his book, which will make him even more obnoxious than usual, so I need you there to be a buffer.”

 

“Fine, I’ll go. And check the closet for the suit, or under the bed, but hurry, you’re going to be late.”

 

“Shit!” Christine put the coffee mug in the sink as she hurried to go find the rest of her needed outfit, apparently finding Tony’s shirt a suitable one to go with it. And with a series of slamming doors and huffs of exertion, she left with an awkward wave of goodbye, just as the minimized Talk2Me window dinged with two new messages. Tony grinned at the sound, waiting a while longer to hear the elevators near their door open with it’s audible swoosh and bing. Immediately after he heard the sounds again, he brought up the the window. The first being:

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: Talk2Me Staff_

 

_Subject: New Talk2Me App!_

 

Tony ignored that one and looked at the next, already having the app installed on his phone, and just waiting for ShopKitty to get her (his?) own. It would be a lie, which he’d of course speak anyhow, to say that he didn’t want to talk to the lovely person on the other side of the screen.

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: ShopKitty_

 

_Subject: Anything and Everything_

 

Tony had always loved the subjects of ShopKitty’s messages, them always being similar to that, or being something like a silly sentence, such as “The Leaves Are Changing Colors and I Don’t Have Enough Coffee”.

 

He clicked onto the message, a sense of childlike glee filling his chest with warmth, directly under his tattoo.

 

_Hello, IM152. It’s great to see you again! Is that a new tie? It looks wonderful with the shirt._

 

_Tony couldn’t suppress the laugh in his throat, genuinely amused at the pieces of mail he received like this. Then again anything ShopKitty wrote seemed to amuse him, as if he were a besotted teenage boy, which he knew he was acting like if he ever thought on his actions._

 

_I’ve always liked starting messages off like this, as if we’re the oldest and dearest friends (which strangely reminds me of two, wrinkled women sipping tea on a front porch somewhere, bickering about when it’ll rain in a delightful fashion), friends that can just say such things as complements, or immediately notice something new or different about the other. At times like those, I also wish I knew what you looked like. Sometimes I imagine you’re tall and terribly handsome, but a modest attractiveness, where you don’t move through the crowds of New York as if all those around you are spectators to a divine display. Other times I imagine you as a shorter and simply cute man, the kind that almost resemble a teddy bear. But I always think of you as a businessman, one in a suit and tie, never someone like a biker (which makes sense, how many of those do you see in New York?), or someone just in ratty jeans and a tee-shirt, that looks like a punk who either needs to smacked upside the head or kissed right on the spot by an impassioned young woman._

 

The warmth in Tony was growing at these words, having fallen in love with the person’s descriptive tendencies when they first started talking to each other. But the warmth was cut short as Tony realized that he himself was going to be late, so he shut the computer and grabbed his phone, wishing Jarvis a nice day as he always did, and heading out the door with messily laced shoes.

 

“Morning, Charlie,” Tony greets the elevator man before standing in the corner and promptly opening the Talk2Me app, pressing into the mail once again and beginning to read where he’d left off.

 

_Do you ever wonder what I’m like?_

 

Constantly.

 

_Or am I a sort of desperate individual, wondering what a celebrity would be like if we were to occupy the same space? But those thoughts aren’t important, are they?_

 

_Jarvis sounds like a lovely animal. I don’t have any pets now, much to my displeasure, but when I was younger I had a misty grey cat named Gandalf. He always loved to run off and go on adventures, often coming back with some scrapes and bruises. They always worried me, but he was happy, so I suppose that’s what mattered. I worried even more when fall came around, mid-fall like now, because that was when he went on the most of his adventures. What about Jarvis? Does he love the fall? I know that I did as well, it’s the perfect season for coffee (a pumpkin cinnamon latte to be exact) and shopping, as well as going into the more country parts of the state. With the leaves being every variation of gold and red and the air having a pleasant sense to it. What’s your favorite season?_

 

_I feel as though I should ask if I’ve ever said how foolishly excited I get whenever your name appears in my inbox. It’s what I look forward to daily, because sometimes I get the sense that you’re the only true friend I have, which is idiotic of course, but it happens at times._

 

_I hope to hear from you soon._

 

~~~

 

____ 

Loki made his way down the bustling streets of the city, a calm expression on his face as he moves towards his precious shop and the most important thing in his morning, only stopping once to buy a New York Times, and then heading into the delicious smelling Starbucks. Coffee was what kept him breathing in the morning, he was sure of it.

____

 

“You look weird today,” was Amora’s way of greeting Loki as she walked up to him, the man working the locks of the front door to The Shop Around the Corner. The other worker was smirking as she’d spoken, long blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail that blew in the fall breeze. Everything about her radiated beauty and sarcasm, as it always did, her not appearing any different from her days in high school with Loki.

 

“What a kind statement, Amora. You’re looking strange yourself,” Loki grunted as he got the creaking wooden door open, smiling briefly as he smelt the store’s natural scent, a remnant of his mother’s time with the store.

 

“I’m not trying to be rude, Loki, I swear, you just look weird, because you’re so...happy.”

 

“I am?”

 

“Absolutely! Your eyes are brighter, you can’t keep a smile off your face, and you hum.”

 

“I hum?” Loki couldn’t keep the laugh from his voice as he pulled off his coat and scarf, hanging them in the backroom of the little shop. “Is humming a terrible thing?”

 

“No, it’s what disgustingly happy people do.”

 

“I believe you’re thinking of Disney movies, dear Amora.”

 

“I’m not, I can assure you that.” She rested her elbows on the counter as she watched Loki go around the store, turning on the lights and making sure the displays all looked perfect, everything set up as Frigga had done so many years before. As Loki pushed a book back in it’s place, Amora gasped, “I’ve got it! You’re in love!”

 

“I’m in love?”

 

“Yes, it’s so obvious. Only love makes someone this ridiculous!”

 

“I’m not-...wait, yes I am, I am in love, with Fandral,” Loki declared, turning away from the blonde when she gave him a skeptical look. Surely he was in love with Fandral, they were practically living together!

 

“I don’t think that’s it...I think it’s someone else.”

 

“And where would you possibly get that idea, Amora? Who else besides you, Bucky, and Fandral are in my life?”

 

Amora seemed to begin to back down from the idea as she thought of it, but a moment later she grinned, crossing her arms in triumph as if she’d figured out some dark secret of Loki’s, “I know who it is. It’s someone from that site I told you about!”

 

“What on earth are you talking about? That little chat thing? No, I’d never be in love with him, I don’t even know him!” Loki responded, feeling a heat rise to his cheeks as he checked the cash register behind the counter.

 

“So there is someone you talk to from it?”

 

Loki rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, looking at her again, “Yes, I talk to someone from that damned site, so what? But anyhow, I’m thinking of stopping.”

 

Amora smirked, resting her elbows against the counter and looking at Loki like a child on Christmas morning, “And why is that, Loki? Is it getting out of hand? Have you had cybersex with him?”

 

“What? No! Of course not, that’d be insane, like I said I don’t even know him. It’s just...confusing, do you understand?”

 

“Is he confusing because he’s giving you butterflies in your tummy?”

 

Loki rolled his eyes and walked to the door, flipping the elegantly written Closed sign to its back, a bright Open now in the door. “I don’t even know why I try to speak with you.”

 

Amora opened her mouth to speak again, but they both became distracted by the soft jingle of the door as Bucky walked in, scarf wrapped around his mouth and nose. He gave a slight wave before walking to the coat rack, Loki smiling at him,

 

“Hey there, soldier. You look like you’re about to try and rob a bank.”

 

“No, I’d be wearing eye makeup for that, legs.”

 

Amora gently pushed at Loki’s arm, “But think of it, Loki, this guy you’re talking to. He could be any one, he could even be,” she cocked her head in the direction of Bucky.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous. The man I talk to he’s...eloquent. But that doesn’t even matter because I’m going to stop.”

 

“You sound like an addict.”

 

The door jingled again, the oldest of the store’s staff walking in: Peggy Carter. Loki smiled fondly at the elderly woman as she filled the last pegs on the rack with her heavy coat and hat. He’d known her since his childhood, the woman having been friends with his mother since they were children themselves in Britain.

 

“What are all of you giggling about now?” she questioned, smiling gently at Loki before heading behind the counter to put her purse away.

 

“We’re talking about cybersex, Peggy,” Amora gladly answered, the elder seeming a bit surprised before gaining her usually calm features. Bucky raised his own brow in response to the answer, wondering when such a conversation had occurred.

 

“Loki, I thought you were better at getting a man than that.”

 

“I don’t need a man, I am perfectly happy with Fandral!” He spins on his heel as the first customer of the day walks in, “How may I help you, sir?”

 

___

“The electrical contractor called, he won’t be in until tomorrow because he hit a deer apparently,” James “Rhodey” Rhodes began, flipping through the pages of a clipboard as he walked around the building in construction. “The shelves are going to be late too because our shipment had beatles, and now there are questions on whether or not the stairs are being put in the right place-”

 

“Sounds, fantastic,” Tony cut off his best friend without knowing it, as he walked through the property he owned, it nearly a building now. He hoped to soon being opening his business.

 

Rhodey sighed at the back of Tony’s head, soon speaking again, “Testing, one two.”

 

“What are tests going on?”

 

“No, I just told you, the electrician hit a deer.”

 

“Seriously? There aren’t any deer in New York City.”

 

Rhodey sighed at him again, looking over his notes briefly before asking in a softer tone, “So, how are things going with Christine?”

 

“Things are the same as always.”

 

“Are you two gonna get engaged soon?”

 

“Engaged? No! That’d be ridiculous.”

 

“I thought you liked Christine.”

 

“I do like Christine! I love Christine! I just don’t think it’s the right time, Rhodey. She’s intimidating, she can make coffee nervous,” Tony stood a bit taller now, slipping into his business persona in hopes of fooling his best friend about his true emotions, “Are we still on schedule? Even with all that nonsense?”

 

“We’ll be open two weeks before Thanksgiving, which is definitely a plus.”

 

“Great! Then we should announce ourselves soon, let the people know we’re coming.”

 

“Get ready for the picketers, this is the Upper West Side.”

 

“I know, and I’ll be ready. They’ll love the store anyway. They’ll be angry until they walk in the door, until they smell coffee and books.” Tony laughed briefly before his phone buzzed quietly in his pocket, “Shit. I have a meeting with Howard. Make sure everything keeps going as planned, all right?”

 

“Of course. Have fun with your dad.”

 

“Don’t call him that. He feels more like a horrible foster father than anything.”

 

 

___

 

Tony raised a  brow as he walked into his father’s office, everything in it redecorated to an extreme amount. He ran his hands over the couch in the corner of the office, “Pepper really went to town on all the decoration. What’s this made out of?”

 

“Money,” his father responded, “it’s called money, Tony.”

 

“I’m not surprised.”

 

Howard senior suddenly spoke up as Tony sat awkwardly on the overstuffed “money” couch, “Your father is getting married again.”

 

“You are?” He looked up at his father, “Congratulations, I suppose. But why?” Tony was sure the sarcasm was apparent in his congrats, the businessman having never forgiven Howard for divorcing his mother. If they’d stayed together Tony would have at least been able to spend the rest of her life with her, Maria having died only three years after.

 

“Who gets  married for any reason?” Howard replied in a rather snappy tone, looking over some documents on his desk. “Love I suppose. And Arno should know that his parents were married, he’s almost, what? Six now I think.”

 

“Kids don’t care,  Howard, that should be obvious. Maya is eleven years old and I’ve never married her mother.”

 

“Well I’m sure Pepper will love designing and planning everything for it.” Tony was still a little disturbed about his father marrying someone his age, especially since he’d known Pepper since college. “Now onto more important matters: Rhodey and I are a bit concerned about the neighborhood response to StarkBooks. But the only shop we’re really worried about the masses being upset about is some little, children’s book store. The Shop Around the Corner? It’s been there forever or something so it’s sacred to the shoppers.”

 

Tony’s grandfather looked up at that, “That was Frigga’s store…”

 

“Who?”

 

“Oh, just a lovely woman I went on a date once with, Frigga Lockhart,” the senior laughed fondly at the memories apparently coming to mind, “my, was she a firecracker that one. We wrote each other too.”

 

“You wrote each other?” Tony raised a brow.

 

“Yes, letters and such, nothing really, but she was lovely to speak to.”

 

“Letters. I’d forgotten people used to do that.”

 

“Oh hush, it’s nothing different from that silly emailing thing you kids do nowadays. Anyhow, I think her son now runs the shop, Loki. I doubt he’ll be hard to run out of business.”

 

Tony nodded as the elders poured glasses of scotch, ignoring the slight sense of guilt in his heart. A shop that’d been there forever, a place that even his own family had fond memories of, we going to leave because of him. He tried to pretend that it was nothing big, it was just progress. Nothing personal, just business.

 

 

___

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: ShopKitty_

 

_Subject: Books and Butterflies_

 

Tony was sure he looked like an absolute fool as he smiled affectionately at the subject line. One thing that had always pleased him endlessly about his conversations with ShopKitty is that they often involved books, something they both seemed to have a passion for. He wondered when ShopKitty had fallen in love with the written word, if it was when they were little, or if it’d taken until they were older to finally treasure such things. Personally Tony’s love for them came from the few times his mother would read him bedtime stories.

 

_Today I saw a butterfly on the subway, exactly like in a story I once read. I don’t remember the name of it, but what I do remember is that I absolutely loved it. Which is a bit strange, don’t you think? How you can absolutely love something, but not quite recall parts of it, like it’s title? But then you can remember something silly like a certain line that made you smile, like a description in the book “A stark white landscape filled with skeleton trees beckoning lost travelers to their owners stone home”. I read that in a fairytale once. And I still love it to this day._

 

_The butterfly was blue, and I wondered what on Earth it was doing when winter is firstly breathing onto the land. But I couldn’t get an answers from it, because it got off on the next stop, the 59th. Perhaps it was going to Bloomingdale's to purchase a hat for the winter, only to discover it was a mistake, as most hats are. Scarves were always better in my opinion. You never get shouted at for wearing a scarf indoors like you do with a hat. But then again, people seem to see hats and ask themselves “Do I really need this?” while with scarves you can think of how perfect they are and how nice they feel and end up with a section of your closet dedicated to them. As I do. Don’t say anything, because I already know I have a terrible problem. Do you have anything like that? I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if you had a thing with hats, and if you do, I apologize, but I will not change my stance on how useless hats can truly be._

 

Tony had never much liked hats, probably because his father wore them so often. He’d always prefered a helmet to anything, because with a helmet he felt like he was safe enough to be a reckless little shit.

 

_As part of my constant need to ramble and ask you questions, I must ask: Have you ever read Pride & Prejudice? It’s one of my favorite novels. I’ve probably read it 100 times in my lifetime, and even though I have many of its lines memorized, I still read with bated breath and worry that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth won’t end up together. And the language….oh! I just absolutely love it. I get lost in the words, ones like “vivid” and “mischievous”. They’re beautiful words, don’t you think? I always enjoyed using them when I was younger too, it made me feel mature, regal even sometimes._

 

It wasn’t the first time Tony had bought a book just because of Shopkitty, but it was the first time he couldn’t stand it. Christine had found him with Pride & Prejudice atop his face as he snored quietly under it. And even though he wanted to cringe every time he read a line, he kept at it, having a desperate need to share something with ShopKitty.Though after his trying of three days he finally wrote to them about his own favorite book, a children’s one because they’d been on his mind lately. While he did so ShopKitty’s beloved classic was perched on his messy hair like the hats they seemed to detest so much.

  


_To: Shopkitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: More Books_

 

_At a time like this Tony really didn’t care that he wasn’t the best at coming up with subject lines._

 

_Did you ever read Homer Price? It was my all time favorite children’s book, and it involved a doughnut machine that couldn’t stop making doughnuts. It was my dream as kid to have something like that, because doughnuts are probably my favorite food. I know that makes me sound like a five-year-old and I have been made fun of for it, but I don’t care, doughnuts are fucking delicious; case closed._

 

_I’m reminded of it everyday I see doughnut machines in the shops around town. Which I often get quite a while to stare out, because of the ridiculously long lines of Starbucks. Coffee places are a hell on earth I tell you. They’re places where people with absolutely no decision  making capabilities have to make six decisions in the morning: tall, light, decaf, cappuccino. Pay $5.75 for a sense of self! I feel like that should be their slogan._

 

 

___

Loki couldn’t help but laugh softly as he waited for his coffee that morning, thinking back to the morning’s message. He had read Homer Price briefly as a child, but it hadn’t interested him much. That fact made Loki wonder if IM152 (he was truly becoming sick of thinking of him that way) if he was anything like the character. Did he enjoy fixing things, was he mild-mannered? Or had he liked Homer because they were nothing alike? The desire to just ask him everything about his life was endless inside Loki. He cared far more for what IM152 was like than what Fandral had written on his typewriter.

 

Once Loki had his coffee he was heading towards the store, barely glancing at the large COMING SOON STARKBOOKS: “Just Around the Corner” sign being painted a block away from his own store. It was only until Bucky drug him and Amora out to look at it did he truly realize what was opening so close.

 

“A StarkBooks superstore. We’re all fucked.”

 

“I’ll have to start looking for another job,” Amora sighed, being as dramatic as ever.

 

“I don’t care that some megastore is moving in,” Loki responded, head raised in confidence, “It has absolutely nothing to do with us. It’s large, cooperate, impersonal, overstocked, and most certainly filled with ignorant salespeople. They won’t provide excellent service like we do.”

 

“They’ll be discount.”

 

“So? Discounts mean nothing if you don’t get treated well.”

 

 

____

  


“You know, I think this’ll be a good thing for us, Peggy,” Loki was reciting a speech he’d told himself a few hundred times already as he ate a nearby deli with the elderly Brit. “It’ll be a good development! It’s like the flower district, where there are all those little flower shops that all do well. With StarkBooks opening, we’ll become the book district. If they don’t have a book, we will, and vice versa, it’ll be wonderful.”

 

Peggy smiled gently at Loki, a look of sympathy on her face, “Hopefully it will be.”

 

 

____

 

 

“You don’t even need to be worrying about StarkBooks,” Fandral speaks from the dining room as Loki gets out what’s needed for their dinner. “Nothing is more charming than an independently owned bookstore with an adorable owner.”

 

“You’ve very sweet, Fandral, thank you. But I can’t-...what the hell is that?” Loki points to the new addition to his dining room: a typewriter.

 

“Isn’t it beautiful? Just listen to it, it’s amazing,” Fandral is giddy as he slips a sheet of paper into what can only be classified as an antique, soon striking a key on it. The man practically moans at the sound before grinning up at Loki, “The Olympia Report deluxe Electric Report, practically new. Utter perfection.”

 

“You certainly are swooning over a machine that looks incredibly familiar. So familiar in fact, I think there might be another one just like it,” Loki strolls over to the other side of the table, tugging off a covering of the exact same machinery. “Why do you keep bringing typerwriters into my apartment? Especially when a computer is just as good, if not better, than them. People don’t use them anymore for a reason!”

 

“Loki, typewriters are amazing! You need to realize that! And I needed a backup-”

 

“Don’t you have a backup at your own apartment? One that you even wrote a column about?”

 

“Maybe, yes, who cares?”

 

“I care because you’re turning my home into a typewriter exhibit!”

 

“I promise I’ll try to stop. But I probably can’t. You know how I am Loki, I see this magnificent machinery and my knees go weak!” Fandral looked to the inanimate object on the table, solidifying Loki’s thoughts that his boyfriend probably cared more about them than Loki himself. “But anyway, what were you going to say before?”

 

“Nothing important.”

 

“Tell me, Loki,” Fandral followed Loki into the kitchen, soon wrapping his arms around Loki’s waist.

 

“I’m just wondering about my line of work. I mean, what is it exactly that I do all day? I stand around a children’s book store and ring people up. I ramble about authors.”

 

“What you’re doing is an incredibly noble thing.”

 

“Noble? I highly doubt what I’m doing can be classified as-” Fandral snapped his fingers  in front of Loki’s face, effectively quieting him with surprise.

 

“You are a lone reed,” Fandral spun on his heel, releasing Loki and placing a new piece of paper in the machine. “You are a lone reed, standing tall and strong in the breeze and sands of commerce!” He whipped the paper out and elegantly handed it to Loki, eyes bright with satisfaction at what he’d just written.

 

“I’m a lone reed?” Loki questioned as he held the piece of paper, reciting again, “I’m a lone reed.” Loki took the paper, heading into his room as the pot on the stone began to heat up.  He read the paper a few more times before finding himself sitting in front of his laptop once again. The clacks of the typewriter in the other room spurred him on into pressing the power button on the computer and immediately clicking into Talk2Me.

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: Shopkitty_

 

_Subject: Sometimes I Wonder_

 

_Sometimes I wonder about my life. It’s a small life, well not exactly small, more circumscribed. And what I wonder is whether or not I lead such a life because I enjoy it that way, or if it’s because I’ve never been brave in my life. It’s so often that I looked around at the world and see parallels to what I’ve read in my beloved books. When will it be different though? When will I be like those heroes and heroines in the stories? When will I finally take a chance like they do? But I don’t think I really want an answer...not when I’m in a fragile state, because I’ve never enjoyed letting my emotions get the most of me. So I suppose I’m simply throwing this question out into the universe, down into the cosmic void. Goodnight void, and goodnight my dear friend._

 

 

____

 

~~~~

 

The rhythmic rock of Tony’s sailboat did nothing to dispel his sad, worried thoughts. That last message had bothered him, he wondered what on earth could be occurring in ShopKitty’s (and god did he want to have their real name now) apparent small life that would cause them to write such depressing messages. The thought of them being confused in their life and seeking guidance from the universe tore him apart inside, especially when he felt like he’d be overstepping his bounds in giving them the answer they blatantly said they didn’t want.

 

“Tony! Tony!” the shrill voice of Tony’s eleven year old aunt knocked him from his thoughts, soon turning around to see her excitedly running along the docks, Arno trying to keep up behind her.

 

“Maya! How are you today?” He questions as he walks over to the edge of the boat, looking down at the excited little girl.

 

“I’m great!”

 

“And you?” Tony asks his brother, the little boy watching the boat gently sway with interest and never answering.

 

“Don’t I get a hello?” Pepper asks, the lovely redhead grinning at Tony as she walks up behind the children, a professional looking man trailing behind her.

 

“Hello, Virginia.”

 

“Kiss me, I’m about to be your wicked step mother,” she laughs, Tony consenting and giving her a peck on the cheek.

 

“And who’s this?”

 

“This is Happy. I  brought him in case you had trouble with the kids.”

 

“Your lack of confidence wounds me, Pepper.”

 

“I simply know you, Tony,” she replied, giving Tony’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

 

“Happy taught Arno to spell his name,” Maya spoke up, smiling brightly at the silent man, who returned the expression in a small fashion.

 

“Really?” Tony lifted his brother up, an impressed look on his face, “Let’s hear it.”

 

“S-T-A-R-K!” Arno happily spelt, making Tony laugh.

 

“That’s amazing, Arno, be proud of yourself.”

 

“Okay,” the boy replied, smiling at his big brother before he was set down again. As much as Tony faught with his father and as much as it disturbed him to see the elder Starks marrying people his age, he did enjoy spending time with the children of such strange relationships.

 

“We’ll just have some fun today, nothing too worrisome, you can have the day off, make sure Pepper doesn’t cause any trouble.”

 

“Will do,” the man finally spoke, Pepper and him exchanging a  glance that caused Tony to raise a brow, but before he could receive an answer the two strolled off, leaving Tony and his young relatives on the dock.

 

“Ready to go?”

 

“Yes!” the children shouted excitedly, jumping up and down to show their preparedness to go to the street carnival.

  


 

____

 

It was as busy as ever at the annual carnival, Tony maneuvering through the crowds the best he could as his relatives scampered about. It’d always seemed strange to him to have such a big carnival for a holiday about eating, but he still very much enjoyed taking his aunt and brother to it, which was funny in itself with Tony never being any good with kids before.

 

Throughout  the afternoon they got trinkets, won stuffed animals and even a goldfish (one that Arno lovingly dubbed Bubbly), and even got little things painted on their faces, the only thing able to be put on Tony’s though being an eyepatch.

 

“I want to go in there, Tony!” Maya tugged on Tony’s jacket sleeve in order to get his attention, pointing at a decently filled shop.

 

“Sure.” It wasn’t until the children had run through the doors to go watch the Fairy Tale Telling that Tony looked at sign: The Shop Around the Corner. Of course it had to be this shop.

 

 

____

“In my shock I didn’t even realize that I had broken the curse, the horrible spell that had plagued me for years.” Tony watched with a smile as the tall, attractive, black haired man read from a worn paperback, the man being dressed in what appeared to be a wizard’s cloak because it was fairytale time. “My stubbornness, the very thing that the spell had tried to destroy, saved me, because my perseverance for the one I loved was more than enough to destroy anything that stood in my way. So I suppose, I got my self-made happily ever after with my prince.” He stood with a flourish of his cloak, smiling at the kids clapping around him, many pleading him to read another story, shouting the name Loki at him. “I’m sorry everyone, but you’ll have to wait for our next story. It’ll be great too, I promise.” As the kids dispersed around him, Loki pulled off the outfit and placed the paperback on the back counter. He then took notice of Tony’s aunt, smiling at the series she was looking over. “Have you ever read any of those before?”

 

“No, are they good?” Maya asked, looking up from the cover of one.

 

“They’re fantastic, every single one of them. They’re called Betsy-Tacy.” He picked one up, “This one is her best friend Tacy, whose real name is Anastasia, and this one,” he picked up another, “and in this one Betsy and Tacy become great friends with Tib, whose real name, I am sad to tell you, is actually Thelma.”

 

“I want all of them,” Maya told Loki as she pulled the books into her arms.

 

“That’s wonderful, but that may be an awful lot for you father to buy all at once, don’t you think?”

 

“No, daddy gets me any books I want, he thinks they’re good for me.”

 

“Well, that’s awfully thoughtful of him,” Loki looked up at Tony and smiled.

 

“That’s not my dad, that’s my nephew!”

 

“Your nephew? I don’t think that’s quite possible.”

 

“No, it’s true, isn’t that right, Aunt Maya?” Tony grins down at the girl as he approaches, looking up after to enjoy the surprised and amused expression Loki had.

 

“Then who are you?” Loki asked, kneeling down to smile at Arno, “Are you his…uncle?”

 

“No! Guess again,” he giggled.

 

“Are you his...grandfather?” Loki asked, smiling at the giggling children, “his great-grandfather?”

 

“No, silly! I’m his brother!”

 

“Oh!” Loki laughs with the child before standing up and raising a brow at Tony.

 

“Maya is my grandfather’s daughter and Arno is my father’s son. We are the perfect picture of an American family, don’t you think?”

 

“You certainly are.” They smiled at each other for a lingering moment, Loki’s eyes bright with curiosity at who is this charming man was, before Maya sneezed loudly. “Oh, here you are, darling,” he tugged his handkerchief out of his pocket, handing it to the confused little girl, who instead wiped her nose on her sleeve before looking over the silken cloth.

 

“What is this?”

 

“Do children not know what these are nowadays? How old am I?”

 

“Well, I know what handkerchiefs are,” Tony supplied, Loki laughing softly in return.

 

“Clearly that means we’re ancient.” As went behind the counter to grab one of the store’s cloth bags for another customer, he showed the handkerchief to Maya. “These are like tissues that you don’t throw away, you just wash them and they’re good as new. My mother made this one for me when I was little, my initials are right here,” he pointed to the green cursive LL and then then the white daisies around it, “and daisies here because, much to my father’s disdain, I loved flowers.”

 

Tony was smiling quietly at Loki as he told Maya his story, soon speaking up, “Who are you?”

 

“My name is Loki Lockhart, I proudly own this store,” he shook hands with Tony, “and you are?”

 

“I’m...just call me Tony, Tony’s fine. And we’ll be taking these books,” he quickly hands them to Loki who in turn hands them to Bucky so he may ring them up.

 

“Fantastic, those are truly wonderful books. They have the best descriptions too. They talk about a “stark white landscape” and-”

 

“Stark!” Arno suddenly shouted, a large smile taking over his face as he gladly spelt out the word, “S-T-A-R-K!”

 

“That’s amazing that you know that word,” Loki smiled at the boy, “Can you spell other words?”

 

“S-T-A-R-K!” Arno spelt just as proudly as before, making Loki laugh.

 

“Magnificent.”

 

“How will you be paying for this?” Bucky suddenly cut into their conversation.

 

“Cash,” Tony responded absently, still exchanging smiles with Loki.

 

“Will we be able to come back, Tony?”

 

“Sure, it’s a lovely place.”

 

“And this is why we won’t go out of business, Loki.” Bucky grinned, “we have loyal customers, customers that fall in love with the place immediately.”

 

Loki nodded happily before looking at Tony again, “There’s a StarkBooks, which is a bit of a coincidence, opening up around the corner.”

 

“My daddy,” Maya began, only to have Tony cover her mouth and send her and Arno off to read a book.

 

“Her daddy loves to buy discount, but that’s not something to brag about. I’ll take that one too, all right?” he handed some money over to Loki, palms a bit sweaty as he worried about it being realized that he’s a Stark.

 

“I agree, the world doesn’t run on discounts. I should know, I’ve been in this business since I was six years old, helping my mother run the store after school,” Loki gained a sweet expression as he thought back on the memories, “and she loved this line of work, same as I do. We’re not just selling books, we’re helping people become who they’re meant to be, you see. When someone reads a piece of literature, especially a child, it helps shape who they are. It becomes a part of their identity. In a way that nothing else can do.” Loki’s cheeks flushed a bit, “Oh, I  got carried away. Mother always said things like that and I  guess I inherited it.” He laughed, causing Tony to chuckle himself as he smiled gently at him.

 

“You are...you’ve made…your mother was an enchanting woman.”

 

“She was, but how did you know?”

 

Tony motioned to the framed photo behind Loki, his mother Frigga holding his hand as they danced around the shop, the photographer having been Peggy. “What are you two doing there? I’m guessing it’s you.”

 

“Dancing…well, twirling to be more precise,” Loki looked fondly at the photo, “sometimes she’d lift me up and spin me too, I loved it, it always made me feel like I was flying. I want my child to get that same feeling, so I intend to leave the store to them too.”

 

“Oh, how old is your kid?”

 

“I don’t have any,” Loki’s cheeks seemed even pinker now, “But I meant in the future. When I’m actually married, because I’m not going to adopt when I’m on my own, that’s ridiculous. And so I end my rambling with the statement that StarkBooks can,” Bucky joined in with him, “go straight to hell. Now here you go.”

 

“Thank you,” Tony chuckled, taking the bag and the little bit of change he received. He nearly cringed outwardly at the realization that the seven books he’d purchased cost ninety-five dollars.

 

“You’re welcome, Tony, goodbye Maya, goodbye Arno. Enjoy the books.”

 

“We will!” Maya giggled, taking Arno’s hand as they left the store together, Tony giving an awkward wave as exited as well, but having to come back as some of the balloons he’d purchased his relatives were caught in the door.

 

“Sorry, good thing it wasn’t the fish,” Tony flushed, fumbling out of the door completely as Loki laughed and smiled at him.

 

 

____

 

 

A week later StarkBooks finally opened, people pouring into it as Tony watched from an upper balcony with Rhodey, both grinning at the wonderful response. A piece of him hidden away behind the excitement of success still remembered Loki’s dreams of leaving the store to his child, knowing there wouldn’t be much of a chance for that.

 

 

____

 

“They’ve been open for six days and we’ve already made 1,500 less than last year this same week,” Peggy said sadly from her computer behind the counter, looking defeated from the fact.

 

“That could be a fluke,” Loki replied, patting her hand gently before he went back to untangling the Christmas lights with Amora.

 

“Or it could mean something.”

 

“Their store is new, that’s what the excitement is about, Peggy. If you stopped moving the lights wouldn’t keep getting tangled,” Loki snapped at Amora, the blonde practically tied up in their decorations.

 

“If you stopped talking and focussed I wouldn’t be in this mess!”

 

“Quit complaining and just stand still,” Loki went back to talking with Peggy as he unwound more of the lights, “StarkBooks is just a novelty, but it will shake out, most likely soon. And while we wait, I will be putting up more twinkle lights because they are great for the window display too.”

 

“But what if we do go out of business?” Amora asked, getting one of her hands free, but looking at Loki with  something resembling fear in her green eyes. “I won’t be able to find a part time job in time to pay my rent. And I’ll never find a part time job with hours this great!”

 

“You can be a street walker,” was Bucky’s response from the far end of the store, putting snowflakes on the door. "I'm sure you could be great at it."

 

“Fuck off, Bucky.”

 

“Don’t fight,” Loki said loud enough for both of them to hear. “We’ll all be fine.”

 

“Yeah, especially with my rent. Six rooms in total, $450 a month. Loki you can always live with me if everything goes under,” Bucky called back, giving Loki a suggestive look, which was strange to see a man in a santa hat and christmas sweater do.

 

“I don’t need to live with anybody. But thank you for your horny offer.”

 

“Always, Loki.”

 

Loki smiled briefly at Bucky before the door was suddenly thrown open, Sigyn Sweet walking in with a furrowed brow. “Loki!”

 

“Hello, Sigyn. What brings you here so frightened looking?”

 

“I was just worried, because I heard you were closing and I’d wanted to do a book signing here like I did for my last one.”

 

“Closing? We aren’t closing, Sigyn, we’re perfectly fine, I promise. You’ll be able to do your signing here. When does the book come out?”

 

Sigyn’s cheeks were flushed at her wrong information, “That’s fantastic to hear. And it’s coming out in January, if you’re sure you’ll be open in January?”

 

“Yes, yes we will be. We’re doing great, right Peggy?”

 

“No difference whatsoever, darling.”

 

“I’m so relieved. Just now that you can count on me,” Sigyn grabbed Loki’s hand and spoke passionately as Bucky tried not to laugh behind them, “For anything, we can get rallies, we can form picket lines! We can get the Times to write something, or even that absolute nut in the Independent-”

 

“What nut in the Independent?”

 

“Fandral something...Fandral Dasher! That’s him, the one that’s always writing about his typewriter! This is just the sort of thing that would outrage him.”

 

“We’ll see what we can do,” Loki promised her, ignoring the heat rising to his cheeks as Amora grinned and Bucky covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

 

“Excellent!” Sigyn smiled and left quickly, hurrying off down the street to do something else.

 

“So Fandral is famous, a famous nutjob.”

 

“Shut the hell up, Bucky.” Amora brightened at Loki’s snap, happily returning to their work of hanging lights.

 

 

____

 

“She thinks I’m a nut?” Fandral asked as he and Loki headed down the street, going to a party that he’d been invited to, one for editors and writers. As well as their plus ones’ which Loki was in this case.

 

“That’s not what’s important, Fandral, she thinks the store is in trouble. And she doesn’t gossip, which means tons of people think the store is in trouble!”

 

“You’re not, you’re fine,” Fandral finally reassured Loki as they walked into the high-end building, soon getting into the elevator and riding it to the penthouse.

 

“You’re right, we’re absolutely fine. Nothing is wrong at all.” They both nodded at each other before turning to the opening doors, the man throwing the party’s wife answering the door and gladly welcoming them in. “I’m going to get a drink, you do your thing,” Loki told Fandral,patting his shoulder before heading to the refreshments table, where Tony stood as well, unhappy at being at the party. “Oh, hello again.”

 

Tony’s head shot up and he looked at Loki with wide, almost frightened eyes, “It’s you! Hey.”

 

“It was Tony, right? Your name is Tony?”

 

“Yes, and you are Loki Lockhart. It was lovely seeing you again, but I need to get my date her drink, she’s very thirsty, has a lot ahead of her, she’s part camel.” Tony smiled awkwardly at his own joke, looking like he wanted to slap himself for saying such a thing, but Loki laughed and nodded.

 

“All right. It was good to see you again too. Hopefully we can talk more later, when you aren’t burdened with such an important task. But wait, I wanted to ask, how’s your aunt?”

 

“She’s great, she loved your store.”

 

“Tell her I hope she enjoys the books.”

 

“Will do!” Tony turned away quickly, hurrying off to find his date, Loki soon doing the same.

 

“Wow, I can’t believe you were talking to Tony Stark,” the host chuckled from beside Loki, ceasing his searching and causing his heart to skip a beat. Loki felt like he was frozen for a moment.

 

“Stark? As in Stark…” Loki can’t even finish his sentence in shock, horrified at the fact that he was being so friendly to the man that is intent on destroying small businesses like his own. His body moved subconsciously, the need to do something similar to pacing taking over as he thought, pacing having always helped him. But for the first time in his life, moving betrayed him, as he soon smacked into Tony Stark’s chest back at the refreshments table.

 

“We just can’t seem to stay away from each other,” Tony laughed, a nervous note in his voice that Loki finally understood. His head snapped up and gave the strongest glare he could muster at a time like this,

 

“Stark? Your last name is Stark?”

 

Tony had the decency to look ashamed for a moment before smirking briefly, spelling proudly, “S-T-A-R-K.”

 

“Oh my god, I didn’t...I didn’t know who...”

 

“‘I didn’t know who you were with”, right?”

 

“E-excuse me?” Loki felt heat in his chest, anger at what he was sure was mockery from the Stark.

 

“It’s from the Godfather, when the movie producer realized that Tom Hagen is the emissary of Vito Corleone, and it’s right before the horse’s head ends up in-”

 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t care. You were spying on me, weren’t you? Spying on the competition? You rented those children I bet.”

 

“Rented children? No, believe me, they were my relatives. Why on earth would I spy on you?”

 

“To get more ideas from me! Like your idiotic sign, “It’s just around the corner” while my story is the Shop Around the Corner!”

 

“The store is literally around the corner, there’s no other way to say it! And it’s not the damn name of the store, and you don’t own the phrase around the corner!”

 

“Next thing I know, you’ll start using twinkle lights and-”

 

Tony cut off Loki’s personal ranting, “What the fuck are twinkle lights?”

 

The question almost appalled Loki, which he was sure his expression conveyed as well, “They’re little Christmas lights and they’re lovely. I use them in my window and with my displays, I always have, and I always will. As if you didn’t notice!”

 

“In fact, I didn’t. Because the real reason I went in there was because Maya wanted to go into the store, she thought it was cute. She likes little things and it probably reminded her of a playset she had. I went in with her and Arno, because I was spending the day with them and I like to buy them things on our days out. As you can see, I’m the type of guy that likes to  buy his way into the hearts of others-”

 

“I doubt that works well in the long run.”

 

“-and your store happened to be the only children’s book store around, because StarkBooks wasn’t open yet. And believe me, your store is charming, it really is, I can see why Maya would think it was cute too. But you’re just charming, and you won’t be the only bookstore, you aren’t the only bookstore now. What’s even your profit, $300,000 a year?”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

“Because I’m in the book business, Lockhart.”

 

“No! I’m in the book business, I actually sell people books, you just own a place that has books!”

 

“Okay, babe, you need listen right now,” Tony took a step closer, suddenly seeming bigger and more intimidating, “why would I spy on your little shop? You’re not competition. You never were. You think of StarkBooks as nothing more than the Price Club, as if people should be ashamed of buying discount, you think the only difference is that instead of a ten-gallon jug of olive oil that won’t even fit into the cabinet, we sell cheap books. You are a store that has nothing to offer me, even if I were a spy, because you’re just a little thing so inconsequential and somehow stuffed full of it’s own virtue that you don’t see that you’re nothing compared to me, and you never would be.”

 

Loki felt as though he’d just been hit by two trucks, the first the one that injured him and the second being the one to help him. He was roadkill and Tony was the hummer that made him that way, and as roadkill he couldn’t say a word, could only stare up at the businessman with eyes that felt frighteningly wet. And it didn’t help that at that same exact moment, Fandral reappeared, wrapping an arm around Loki’s sagging shoulders as he spoke so pleasantly to Tony it made Loki want to vomit.

 

“Fandral Dasher, and you are?”

 

“Tony Stark.”

 

“Tony Stark? You mean the inventor of the Superstore, enemy of the mid-list novel, destroyer of the beloved shop City Books? Tell me, how do you sleep at night?” Loki was dead and this was hell, he was sure of it.

 

“I use a wonderful over the counter drug to help me sleep, it even takes care of the worst of hangovers,” a beautiful blonde suddenly appeared next to Tony, smiling and shaking hands with Loki and Fandral, “Christine Everheart, editor for Everheart Books, lovely to meet you all. You’re Fandral Dasher, right?”

 

“Yes...I am.”

 

“I just loved your last piece in the Independent, the one about Anthony Powell, it was just wonderful, brilliant even. Tony,” she looked up at the Stark, Loki honestly surprised by Tony’s taste in partners, “Fandral Dasher is the living expert on Julius and Edith Rosenberg. Isn’t that amazing!”

 

“Absolutely, this is Loki Lockhart, darling,” Tony introduced them, Loki  glaring in response as Christine gave a half-hearted hello before returning to Fandral, who was beaming. “I’m so glad to have finally met you.”

 

“You liked my piece, God I’m so flattered, thank you! It’s so hard being a writer, because you create these things and you expect someone to call and tell you  how great you did but it never happens, but then there are moments like these that make it all worth it. It completely destroys those thoughts of ‘I’m a fraud, I’m a failure’, you know?” Fandral continued to speak with Christine, both trying to wander off into the party before Loki and Tony grabbed onto their respective dates’ arms and pulled them away from each other.

 

“Have you ever thought of doing a book, Mr. Dasher?”

 

“It’s crossed my mind.” Loki tugged on Fandral’s arm again, pulling him away from Christine completely now,

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Fine, fine. I hope to speak with you again, Ms. Everheart!”

  


 

____

 

“I really do like that Christine Everheart, I mean sure she’s driven by money and power but any one so well acquainted with my works can be saved-”

 

“Fandral, I am really not in the mood. I’m very tired. I’m going to lie down, all right?”

 

“Oh, okay. Sleep well?”

 

“Thank you,” Loki shut the doors to the bedroom, allowing Fandral to begin working on something and giving himself the chance to drag his laptop into the bed with him. He needed to lie down, but he also needed to let off some steam to IM152. And for some divine reason, there was already a message awaiting him in his inbox, a lovely, needed message.

 

_To: Shopkitty_

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: That Monster_

 

_Do you ever feel like you become the worst version of yourself? Like all of a sudden, in one brief and terrible moment, the stars or planets align in just the precise way to turn you into some venom spitting monster? As if that moment has ripped open your very own Pandora’s  box hidden deep inside you, releasing all the most terrible things you can possibly say or do, your arrogance and your spite, then BAM! you zinged some person who didn’t deserve it in the slightest, just  because they may have provoked you a little? No, I’m sure you have no idea what I mean…_

  


Loki quickly hit the reply button.

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: Shopkitty_

 

_Subject: Response_

 

He needed to vent, this was not a moment to be cute with his subject line

 

_I know exactly what you mean! But I’ve never been able to ‘zing’ someone, I become tongue-tied and I just stand there. So often I can speak well to people, I’ve even been told I have a silver-tongue, but in those brief instances when I’m provoked, when I’m cut down, my tongue turns to lead and all I can do there is stand there like an absolute fool. Then I spend the rest of the night or day just thinking of the perfect things I could have said, wishing I would have been able to send the responses back in time to help my past self. Which is foolish because it would completely disrupt the timeline, but I still think about it and I still hate myself for not thinking of anything better than an awkward noise being released from my throat, like a defense mechanism to just scare them away with my strangeness._

 

_I faced something just like this tonight in fact. What should I have said to this...bottom-dweller that belittled my existence, my entire being. Even now not a thing comes to mind, he broke down so perfectly and precisely, it would take me days to come back from it all._

 

Soon after pressing the Send button Loki fell asleep, laptop resting next to him in Fandral’s spot.

 

When the sun rose the next morning, Loki’s first action was to check his inbox again, curled in his blankets and hugging a pillow to himself like a sad child. Luckily exactly what his heart needed was sitting there unopened. He smiled at the subject line, “A response for responses.”

 

_Wouldn’t it awesome if I could just...telepathically send you all my zingers, all my nasty responses, so I would never behave poorly and you could deal with all the bastards that cut you down? Then we’d both be happy! But then again, I must warn you, that when you are finally able to say the things you’ve been yearning to say, when you become that nasty creature and slash at someone’s ego, remorse inevitably followed._

 

_Do you think that maybe, we should meet?_

 

“Oh my god,” Loki whispered in surprise, heart quickening its pace at the words. Meet? Meet? Loki slammed the computer shut before he could allow himself to reply. Either response he could give would be terrible. If he said yes he knew he would fall for this person all over again, because he wasn’t going to lie anymore, he loved the person on the other side of that screen, whoever they might be. And if Loki said no, if he rejected this lovely person, he would break his own heart and feel terrible in the process, even worse than he felt now. So instead of saying anything, he hurried off to get dressed for work. And going to work was an awful experience, because he kept having to hide from Tony Stark around town, behind flowers he was picking up, behind newspapers at Starbucks, as if the universe thought it was funny to watch them dance around each other.

 

 

____

 

Loki’s first failed attempt at avoiding Tony was at the market.

 

Loki moved his cart down the aisles, looking over all the supplies he needed for the next week. But as he did so he heard Tony’s voice, the man talking on the phone and distracted, which gave Loki the chance to pull out his pair of sunglasses and put them on, while wrapping his scarf around his neck and mouth. Hopefully the half-disguise would be enough, even if he looked like he was about to do something devious, like steal the cheese he’d been looking over.

 

Moving as fast as he could Loki got the rest of his groceries and slipped into a line, trying to stand as naturally as he could but feeling rigid while doing so. And it wasn’t until the items had been rung up and he offered his credit card did everything truly fail.

 

“This is a cash only line.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Cash only, we don’t accept credit cards in this line, sir.”

 

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, but this is all I have. Is that alright?”

 

“No it’s not alright!” A man snapped behind him, “There’s a sign.”

 

Loki felt his face warm and his stomach drop, “I-I never do this, but I’m asking that you make this one exception for me, please. Y-you have the machine-”

 

“Cash only.”

 

“All I have is a dollar in my wallet, please-”

 

“Are you in need of money, Mr. Lockhart?” Tony’s voice was mocking and amused as he moved up beside him.

 

“No, I do not need money-”

 

“Sir, you need to move to another line.”

 

“I will, just-”

 

Tony cut him off again, looking even more amused as he took in Loki’s terrible disguise, “Please, Rose,” he reads off her nametag, “which is an absolutely lovely and fitting name for you, would you do us a big favor and help us. Loki, him, and me, Tony, would be so grateful if you would do this for us. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving,” he winked at the cashier, who was obviously charmed at this point.

 

“Alright, I will,” she gently took Loki’s card and zipped it through the machine, Tony sending Loki a triumphant smile before leaving.

 

“Thank you so much,” Loki tried to begin, signing his name on the machine, but only getting the sharp response of Rose calling for the next in line. Loki hurried out, embarrassed and unsure whether to hate Tony more or less after this incident.

 

 

____

Christmas nearly slammed into Loki, the time seeming to fly as his business slowly emptied. He ignored it the best he could, instead trying to seem festive as he decorated the small tree in the shop’s window, using all the antique ornaments his mother had left. While he decorates his heart aches worse than the past Christmas, missing Frigga more than anything at the moment, feeling like he’s letting her down.

 

“Loki, I have something I need to tell you,” Peggy says quietly as she walks in, looking at him with a frown.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I just passed StarkBooks. Sigyn is having her signing there now, there’s a poster in the window.”

 

Loki felt the ground give way beneath him, leaving him drowning in mental despair at this hit. What could he possibly do now? He exited the front of the shop and sat down in the back room, clutching his phone so tightly he feared it would break. Then before he could stop himself he was pressing the Talk2Me app and crying out his current state in a message.

 

_Tonight as I was decorating my Christmas tree with all the little things my mother had kept from her mother and all the little things I’d made as child, I was missing her so badly I could barely breathe. I always miss her at Christmas, always, because she was always my star at that time. She filled the house with music and wonderful smells, we were always the most festive in the neighborhood. I loved it. And now I don’t have those times anymore, and I want her next to me again, especially now when I’m in desperate need for her advice. I feel like I’m falling apart at the seams and I have nothing to stitch me back together. What are you supposed to do when everything you’ve known, your entire world, is cracking apart beneath your feet?_

 

____

Loki was staring sadly at the computer in his lap, trying to figure out what he could possibly say to his precious friend. Then a loud sound went off as a chat box appeared on screen, the beloved username IM152 appearing in blue with a sentence beneath it:

 

_I had a gut feeling you’d be on right now._

 

_Shopkitty:_

 

_Your gut was absolutely right._

 

_IM152:_

 

_I’m glad about that, because I’m best at giving advice in real time, and I desperately want to help you._

 

_Shopkitty:_

 

_You’re kind. But I don’t quite think you can help._

 

_IM152:_

 

_Why? Is it about love? I’ll have you know I am fantastic in the love department. But please say it isn’t._

 

How cute. Loki smiled at the message, heart aching a bit. He was sure the man would be a Casanova, while Loki was Romeo, someone who loved foolishly and strongly until everything went to shit.

 

_Shopkitty:_

 

_Sorry to disappoint, but no. My business is in trouble._

 

_IM152:_

 

_No, that’s excellent news actually, because I am a businessman. You were right about that. And it is most certainly what I do best. What’s your business?_

 

_Shopkitty:_

  
_Ah ah ah, no specifics, remember?_

 

_IM152:_

 

_That makes this a little hard. But it also makes it so the only piece of advice I can give to you at this moment is: Go to the mattresses._

 

_Shopkitty:_

 

_Go to the mattresses?_

 

_IM152:_

 

_It’s from the Godfather, it means you need to go to war. Kick ass elegantly!_

  


Loki laughed brightly, somehow finding the silly words elegant in themselves.

 

_Shopkitty:_

_What is it with people and the Godfather?_

 

_IM152:_

 

_We love it because it is the source of all wisdom, Kitty. It gives us all the knowledge we need to be amazing! And it taught me exactly what you need to recite to yourself every time you doubt yourself in this battle “It’s not personal, it’s just business” you’re doing what you need to. You’ve said you worry about being brave, and this is your chance, you need to be braver than ever before. Fight!_

 

_Ciao._

 

There was another sound as he signed off, Loki being left with the message that he reread over ten times. “It’s not personal, it’s just business. It’s just business. Fandral!”

 

“Yeah?” he questioned, sticking his head in through the door of the bedroom.

 

“I’m going to go to the mattresses, I’m going to war. Which means I need your help. WIll you write an article about us in the paper, to grab people’s attention?”

 

“It’d be my honor to help such a noble cause,” the sincerity in his words was astonishing, “and I didn’t know you’d watched the Godfather.”

 

Loki sighed softly.

 

 

____

 

The store was abuzz with life, the cash registers endlessly dinging as Loki jumped up in down in the back room, out of sight as he tried to prepare himself to what he was about to say to the news team outside. Fandral’s article had brought people back, filled them with a passion and need to save something that Fandral had called a precious resource to the city.

 

“Loki, they’re getting antsy, they want to hear what you have to say!” Amora called over the bustling of the people.

 

“I know, I’ll be right out!” Loki looked himself in the mirror back in the room, fixing his hair briefly and whispering to himself, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” He slid out from behind the counter and into the daylight outside, blinking harshly as a microphone and camera were shoved in his face.

 

 

____

~~~~

 

That night Tony and Rhodey watched the news report at the gym, both running on treadmills. Tony was fuming while Rhodey simply laughed, finding Loki amusing with his perseverance.

 

“We’re here with Loki Lockhart in front of the famous children’s books store, the Shop Around the Corner,” the reported began, smiling brightly as Loki stood with a quiet smirk next to her. “that is on the verge of closing due to the big bad wolf of the neighborhood, StarkBooks that has opened just a hundred feet away, wooing customers with its discounts and designer coffee.”

 

“They have to have discounts and lattes because most people who work there have never read a book,” Loki spoke, somehow managing to be charming even as he insulted people.

 

“He’s not as nice as he seems on television,” Tony growled next to Rhodey, glaring up at the screen.

 

“You’ve met him?”

 

“Believe me, I wish I hadn’t. He’s a total pill.”

 

“Is he as attractive as he is on TV as he is in real life?”

 

Tony looked at him in surprised, “You think Loki’s nice looking?”

 

“If someone’s good looking, they’re good looking, Tony.”

 

“Well then, yes, he’s very attractive. Incredibly regal actually, he’s go the posture of a royal and clearly the brain of a scholar. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s a pill.”

 

“So you don’t feel bad at all? Sending his ass to the bad part of town because he’ll be broke and lose everything he clearly cares about?”

 

“Rhodey, it’s nothing personal, it’s just business. Don’t try to guilt trip me when you helped me open the damn store. Oh, wait, here’s a good looking guy,” Tony grinned as his part of the interviews came on screen, glad to see that they wouldn’t just ignore him. But it didn’t help at all when the only words of his allowed on screen were “I sell cheap books, so sue me.”

 

“That’s what you said? No wonder they think you’re an ass!”

 

“That’s not all I said, damn it! I said we were fantastic, that if you wanted you could read for hours and no one would bother you, that it was goddamn paradise for booklovers with over 150,000 titles; I was eloquent!” Tony shook his head, running even faster on the machine in his anger, panting as he spoke again, “It’s no wonder, they want to turn him into something great like Joan of Arc.”

 

“And you into Attila the Hun, right?”

 

“Well more the company, but yeah.”

 

Loki suddenly appeared on screen again, “I’ve met Tony Stark, owner of StarkBooks, and he doesn’t seem to care much at all. He compared his store to the Price Club and all the books to cans of olive oil.”

 

Tony forgot to run in that moment, sliding off the treadmill as he stared angrily at the screen again.

 

 

____

 

~~~~

 

Fandral got more attention than ever during all of it, even ending up on Inside Media where he flirted incessantly with the host Darcy Lewis, while Loki continued to try and keep his business afloat, and finding himself counting the totals of the receipts from all of it with the others in the store.

 

“Let me guess, Peggy, there isn’t the slightest difference, is there?” Peggy was silent, unable to answer while Loki covered his face in defeat, “Oh god, how could it not make any difference? How could all of this meant nothing? Peggy what am I going to do? What would mother have done?”

 

“Well let’s ask her,” Peggy stated, pulling out the locket she treasured and opening it, two pictures being inside, one of her and one of Frigga when they were younger. “Frigga, what should we do?” She pressed the locket to her ear, making soft ‘mhm’ noises as Loki smiled sadly at her. “She has no idea, Loki, but she thinks your window display is absolutely lovely. Goodnight, Loki, do your best.” She stood and kissed Loki’s cheek before exiting with her bag.

 

As she left Loki pulled out his phone, sending a message to IM152:

 

_To: IM152_

_From: Shopkitty_

 

_Subject: It’s snowing and I need help_

 

_The subject makes this sound far more desperate than it really is, as if I’m trapped in snow somewhere with only my phone, which for some reason I call you with instead of an ambulance. But either way, I do need help, so I must ask: Do you still want to meet me?_

 

Loki only had to wait a few minutes for the response, his phone jingling in his pocket as he headed home.

 

_To: Shopkitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: YES_

 

_I would love to meet you. When? Where?_

  


 

____

 

~~~~

 

Tony was tense as he walked with Rhodey towards the designated meeting place,palms sweating at the prospect of finally seeing the person behind the computer.

 

“I suppose it’s going to be something romantic, right? Where they’re carrying a copy of some book with a flower in it.”

 

Tony was silent, staring down at the ground with flushed cheeks.

 

“You can’t be serious.”

 

“I am.”

 

“Which Jane Austen is it?” Rhodey asks knowingly with a grin, worsening Tony’s blush.

 

“Pride and Prejudice, they absolutely love it.”

 

“With all this ‘they’ talk I have to ask, do you really not know their gender?”

 

“I don’t. I mean the username sounds like something I’ve seen from younger girls, but I get this feeling that it’s a guy. I don’t know. I’ll find out. But anyway, I’m only staying ten minutes, that’s it. We’re going to talk, have a cup of coffee, and then split after a nice little chat.”

 

They reached the cafe, Tony freezing at the steps and looking to Rhodey for help, “Will you look for me?”

 

“What?”

 

“Christ, Rhodey, look at me I’m a wreck! Please do this for me! I just want to know if they’re there. I don’t give a damn about their looks if that’s what you’re thinking, I mean they could have the appearance of a mailbox and I wouldn’t care, because this is the most adorable creature I have ever come into contact with. I would be crazy if I didn’t want to turn my life upside down and ask them to marry me after this.”

 

Rhodey stared at him for a brief moment, a kind expression on his face as he sees how much Tony really loves the person he intends to meet. “Okay, I will,” he took the steps quickly, soon looking into the cafe’s window. “I’m not seeing anyone...wait! I see a flower in a book, that’s gotta be them! There’s a waiter blocking them though, he’s putting in three spoonfuls of sugar into their tea, I’m guessing they have a sweet tooth. Oh, good, he’s moving!”

 

“What do they look like?”

 

“Well...they’re...they’re very attractive, beautiful even. You said you thought Loki Lockhart was attractive right?”

 

“Yeah, I did, what does that matter?”

 

“Well they kind of look like him.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes, and that’s probably because it is in fact Loki Lockhart.”

 

“No fucking way,” Tony pushed up against the window, looking in and letting out an appalled, “oh my god.”

 

Loki Lockhart was certainly there, sitting in the center of the shop, drinking his tea daintily with a long-fingered hand resting on Pride & Prejudice. He was adorable in there and it was killing Tony slowly.

 

“What are you going to do, man?”

 

“Nothing…”

 

“You’re just going to leave him in there? Tony, you can’t do that, he wrote all those letters, he’s the person you’re crazy about!”

 

“I can do it, and I’m going to do it, goodnight, James, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tony went down the stairs and hurried away, feeling Rhodey’s eyes on him the entire way.

 

 

____

 

~~~~

 

Loki tapped his fingers on the hardcover of the book, trying to ignore his watch that said IM152 was already twenty minutes late. There were so many variables as to why he couldn’t be there at that exact moment, being adorable and kind across from Loki. He sets his feet on the other chair, guarding it with his body so people won’t try to steal it away, because he was coming, Loki was sure of it. There was no reason for him not to be coming.

 

Just as his heart breaks and he begins to read, an annoyingly familiar voice speaks to him, “Why, if it isn’t Loki Lockhart? Do you mind if I sit down?”

 

“Yes, I do, I’m expecting someone,” Loki yelped in surprise as Tony tore the chair out from under his legs and sat himself down, soon pushing the book back to see what it says.

 

“Pride and Prejudice? Really?”

 

“Yes! I’ll have you know it’s a beautiful story, a classic, which you would know if you actually sat down to read instead of destroying other people’s lives.”

 

“I’m not surprised you’re an Austen fan. I bet you worry every time you read it whether or not that...Mr. Darcy is going to end up with whatever her name is. If they’re going to get their happy ending.”

 

Loki can feel his cheeks and eyes burning as he glares at Tony, closing the book and placing the rose back inside it, “Would you leave? Please.” He adds the last word after a moment, some of his sadness leaking into it.

 

“You said you’re waiting for someone, I’ll get up as soon as he finally gets here. Is he late?”

 

Loki refused to answer, instead staring down at the book cover, “I’ll have you know, the heroin of Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth Bennet, who happens to be one of the most complex and beautifully written characters in literature. As I said, if you’d read it, you would know that.”

 

“I actually have read it. If you really knew me, I think you’d discover a lot of things about me you enjoy.”

 

“If I knew you all I’d discover is that instead of a brain there’s a cash register and instead of a heart there’s a bottom line!” Loki snapped, almost immediately gasping afterwards, shocked with himself.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I just had a breakthrough, for the first time in my whole life, when I am faced with a despicable, awful human being, I knew exactly what to say when they provoked me.”

 

“Well congrats, you have a real knack for you, it was the perfect blend of poetry and cruelty,” Tony Stark has the gall to sound hurt by what Loki’s said, as if he’s never done anything cruel in his own life.

 

“Let met tell you something about cruelty, Mr. Stark-”

 

“There’s no need to, I was simply paying a compliment,” as he said this, Tony lifted the book again, Loki immediately grabbing it back, but the businessman able to keep the rose in his hand. “A crimson rose, tucked between the pages of a book. Sounds like something you would read about in such a thing, one of those cheap romance novels at the store, the ones with the half naked men and the women in tight nightgowns.”

 

“Give it back to me,” he reached out expectantly, trying not to be too upset at the whole situation.

 

He smelled the rose deeply, soon putting it in his mouth while wiggling his brows.

 

“Everything is just a joke to you, isn’t it? Everything’s a joke to you.” There was a painful beat of silence as more people filed into the shop, none being who he waited for. “Please, please just leave me…I beg you.”

 

Tony finally stood up, appearing to be ready to leave, but instead moves to the table behind Loki, back to him, making Loki sigh heavily. But he takes the moment of shifting to pull out his handkerchief and wipe at his eyes briefly, not wanting to look like tears were about to fall, which they inevitably were.

 

“That handkerchief reminds me of the day we met,” Tony suddenly speaks, having been quietly watching Loki sideways.

 

“That first day you lied to me.”

 

“Now how on earth did I lie to you?”

 

“You acted like you knew nothing about StarkBooks, and I thought Arno was so charming with how he knew how to spell Stark!”

 

“I did not lie about it though-”

 

“You were purposelly avoiding the truth, saying “Just call me, Tony,” as if you had no last name. Like those idiot frat boys that just introduce themselves by their first name like last names are nonexistent!” Loki glares at Tony even more as he moves back to his table, the man leaning across to talk more quietly to Loki.

 

“I am not an idiot frat boy.”

 

“That isn’t what I meant.”

 

“Really? Because it’s just like how I compared StarkBooks to the Price Club and you used that against me. I didn’t mean it to sound-”

 

“Oh, you poor, sad billionaire, you’re so misunderstood. Now I feel terrible.”

 

The door opened then, Tony and Loki both turning to see who it is, a shrivelled old man walking in and soon taking a seat at the counter.

 

“I’m guessing that’s not him either. And who exactly is this guy, Loki? I know it isn’t the famous Independent columnist. Are you going to be nasty to him too? Be sweet as sugar, be adorable, and then find that knife in your mouth you call a tongue?”

 

“No, I won’t be, because the man I am waiting for is smart, and funny, and he’s far more eloquent and kind that you could ever manage to be.”

 

“Kind? I thought kind people didn’t stand each other up, I didn’t think they left someone they apparently care about looking miserable in a cafe.”

 

“If he doesn’t show, there’s a reason, because there isn’t a cruel bone in his body, Stark. You wouldn’t understand anyway, because you’re nothing more than suit with pockets full of cash.”

 

“Well, I think that’s my cue to leave. Goodnight, Mr. Lockhart.” Tony stands, staring at Loki for another moment, a strange type of sadness in his brown eyes before he exits, leaving Loki to wallow in self-pity a while longer.

 

 

____

“So, what was it like?” Amora asks the moment Loki walks in, the man’s exterior still looking like a drooping flower in his sorrow. “Did you have sex?”

 

“Amora, please.”

 

“Come on, you have to tell me!”

 

“I’ll tell you everything, all right? He never showed, and I was forced to spend a good portion of my evening with Tony Stark. That’s how it went.”

 

“So he stood you up?”

 

“He didn’t stand me up,” Loki protests, something in him still causing him to defend the man to no end as put up his coat and scarf, “There’s a reason, I’m sure of it. Something  terrible must’ve happened-”

 

“How’d it go?” Bucky asked as he and Peggy walked in.

 

“He never showed,” Amora replied for her.

 

“He stood you up?” Both Peggy and Bucky asked at the same time, brows furrowing in surprise.

 

“He didn’t stand me up! There was a reason, I know it.”

 

“Maybe he was the rooftop killer, they caught him last night,” Bucky said, throwing the newspaper to Loki, it having the killer’s mugshot on the front page. There’s a clap of thunder outside as Loki stares quietly at it, raining beginning to pour down.

 

“No...no that couldn’t be it.”

 

“But it would make sense. He couldn’t come because he was in jail!”

 

“Bucky, please stop.”

 

“But think of how lucky you are, babe. You could’ve been killed!”

 

“Stop,” Loki finally snaps, moving to fix one of the displays in the shop, just wanting something to do.

 

 

____

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: Shopkitty_

 

_Subject: Missed You_

 

_Last night I went to the cafe, full of hope and expectation, but you weren’t there, you were never there. So I ended up sitting in this little seat, clutching a book, and waiting for you the entire night, feeling absolutely foolish. Now I just wonder why._

 

_And while I’d been waiting, another person showed up, and I was unnecessarily cruel to him. Yes, he had hurt me emotionally, repeatedly, but he didn’t deserve what I said, which made me understand exactly what you meant when you said remorse immediately follows after a moment of perfect nastiness. Now all I have is a pain in my chest, from you never coming and from me treating this man like a bug. It didn’t help either, that what I said seemed to actually matter to him, it only made it even worse._

 

_I miss you._

                                    

It was two days later that a reply suddenly found it’s way into Loki’s mailbox, the man nearly crying with joy to discover that his friend wasn’t dead.

 

_To: Shopkitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: Filled with Regret and Hopefulness_

 

_I’m so sorry, I really am. I can’t tell you why I was unable to come but I beg you from the bottom of your heart to forgive me for what happened. I feel terrible that you found yourself in such a situation that hurt you so terribly because of me. You were expecting to find someone you trusted and instead met the enemy, and it’s all my fault. When we do meet, and I’ll make sure we do someday, I’ll never stop apologizing, but for the meantime, I’m still here, so please, talk to me. Please._

 

 

____

 

“You’re closing the shop?” Fandral asked, he and Loki walking down the street to the cinema.

 

“Yes, we have no other choice, I think it’s for the best. If I didn’t do it now I’d have to watch it slowly suffer until it all collapsed.”

 

“It’s understandable. But at least something good came from all of this, my career has never been better!”

 

Loki closed his eyes, trying not to become enraged with Fandral’s words. After everything he’d been through, Fandral somehow was still able to turn everything to his own insight. As much as he hated to admit it, Tony Stark was right, even unintentionally, he’d brought up the fact that the one person Loki would wait all night for was the person behind the screen, not Fandral, never him. Because he wouldn’t care, he’d use the time to buy another typewriter, he’d use the time to try and use his apparent philosophical understand of the world to try and entice others into spending time with him. Loki was nothing, Loki was just an interesting think Fandral could write about, which is exactly what he did, and now that Loki’s doors are closing he returns to himself, looking for another person to make an article out of.

 

“Fandral, I don’t want to see the movie anymore.”

 

“What? Why? I thought you liked documentaries.”

 

“Some, but I really have no interest in political documentaries.”

 

“What? But you watch them with me all the time,” Fandral’s brow was furrowed, absolutely dumbstruck as they stood on the quiet street.

 

“That’s because you said you could never date someone that wasn’t as serious about politics as you are. I didn’t even vote in the last mayoral election. I got my hair done and I forgot.”

 

“You get your hair done?”

 

“Yes, I get it straightened. What? Can you not be with someone who gets their hair done as well?” Loki raised a brow, still trying to contain the anger in his chest.

 

“No...no it’s fine, I forgive you.”

 

“You forgive me? I’m not asking for forgiveness! I’m simply stating facts!”

 

“Why? What spurred you into this nonsense?”

 

Loki opened his mouth, only to snap it shut again. What had brought this on? He thought for a moment longer before finally answering, “I decided to say all this because I realized something...I don’t love you.”

 

Fandral was silent for a long moment before laughing and smiling, “I don’t love you either, Loki!”

 

Somehow it actually was funny, both of them laughing. And after a while Loki finally asked, “Are you going to ask out that Darcy Lewis? You both seemed to connect extremely well.”

 

“She actually already gave me her number, and we have talked. I think I will.”

 

“Good luck to you then.”

 

“This has been the simplest break-up that must’ve ever happened.”

 

“Probably. Well, you can pick up the typewriters whenever. And I’ll be going home.”

 

“Good luck with getting your revenge against Tony Stark.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

____

 

It took three days for everything to be sold out in the Shop Around the Corner, everything being discounted 40%. It led to the busiest few days that Loki had ever experienced and it was torture. Knowing that this was only happening because his world had caved in hurt like nothing else, the only thing even a little comparable to it was IM152 never showing.

 

On the final day, Loki looked at the barren store, clutching the closed sign to his chest. He could still see the times when he and his mother and first been there, Frigga spinning him around and them twirling throughout the store as they would decorate. For once Loki actually let himself cry as he relived precious parts of his childhood.

 

____

  


Before long Loki ended up in StarkBooks, amazed at the bustling people and the constantly filled books. Unable to stop himself he headed up the spiral staircase, wandering through the seemingly endless rows of books, and ending up in a chair beside the children’s book section, tears in his eyes. He would have never been able to compete, not ever with how amazing the store was.

 

“Do you have the “Shoe” books?” a shopper asked from behind, an employee sounding confused immediately.

 

“The shoe books? Who’s the author?”

 

“I don’t know-”

 

“The author is Noel Streatfield. Noel Streatfield wrote Ballet Shoes, Skating Shoes, Movie Shoes, and Theater Shoes. I would start with Skating Shoes because it’s my absolute favorite,” a tear slid down his cheek, “but Ballet Shoes is wonderful as well. They’re all wonderful really.”

 

“How do you spell that?” The employee asked, confused at Loki’s upsetedness.

 

“S-T-R-E-A-T-F-I-E-L-D.”

 

“Okay, thank you.” Loki nodded, wiping his eyes.

 

 

____

~~~~

 

“I think it’s a shame that Loki Lockhart went out of business, but I think it can be good too. I think Loki would be a wonderful author,” Christine said as she exited the cab with Tony, heading into their building.

 

“You’re going to offer him a job now, after everything that’s happened?”

 

“I think I might. He’s out of business, he’s got no job now, I think he deserves something. It’ll be a project for him so he doesn’t have to wallow in self-pity until he’s evicted.”

 

“I just can’t imagine him working for you, Christine, he’s  got such an awful personality, I mean he’s nice to everyone that comes into the shop-”

 

“That you helped close.”

 

“And he’s just so...he’s so helpful, it’s exhausting.”

 

“Then what, do you want him to just try and find a job, which probably won’t work out, and he’ll be destitute. Hold the elevator!” Christine shouted, dragging Tony into the almost closing doors. Soon after she begins talking again as soon as they’re in the elevator, Christine making a point to ignore everyone else in there, even as Tony greets Charlie.

 

But her speech about her brilliance ended as the elevator halted, lights flickering out.

 

“Is it stuck?” Tony asked in confusion and fright.

 

“That’s possible,” Charlie responded, pressing the call button but getting no answer.

 

“Shit! I can be stuck in here! I have things to do damn it!”

 

“Christine calm down, please, we’ll be fine-”

 

“No we won’t be fine! This is awful! I have calls to make!”

 

“Christine, shut up, please!” Tony snapped, “We need to be calm, we’ll be fine, your work can wait for a short while.”

 

An hour later they were still inside the elevator, everyone sitting in the small space. A woman named Veronica begins speaking, “If I get over this, I’m going to start talking to my mother again. It’s been too long, and I feel awful for not calling her enough.”

 

Charlie nodded to her, “and if I ever get out of here, I’m going to finally ask Laurie to marry me, I’m not scared anymore.”

 

Tony smiled at them, but it faltered as Christine made an outraged noise beside him, “Where the hell are my tic-tacs? What?” she asked as Tony quietly stared at her, wondering why on earth he’d ever thought she was a good match for him. Just then the fire department pried the doors open.

 

 

____

 

_To: Shopkitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: When Everything Changes_

 

_Last night I got into the elevator of my building, and an hour later I finally go out. Soon after me and Jarvis packed our bags and we left. It didn’t take long and it didn’t hurt, because neither of us were very attached to it or its resident apparently. It was amazing to see how things changed when I finally had a clear mind. The whole story is long though, and packed full of the personal details were avoid like the plague, so that’s what I have to tell for now._

 

Tony clicked send as he made himself comfortable, or as much as he could, in the small bed of his boat, Jarvis curled up next to him and trying to take even more of the space. It’d been a long time since Tony had been on his own, and it was strange, knowing everything you’d done with one person, didn’t really mean all that much to you in the first place.

 

In a shocking, but amusing coincidence, the next morning Tony got a call from Howard: Pepper had run off with Happy. But the coincidence also led to the question of who truly was right for Tony, who could fit the description of ‘the one’ that clearly no one in his family had ever had.

 

 

_____

~~~~

 

Spring came and so did a cold for Loki, who now sat with a box of kleenex in bed with his computer, wiping at his nose as he writes to his precious friend.

 

_To: IM152_

 

_From: Shopkitty_

 

_Subject: Why Does Everything Have to Change?_

 

_People have always told me that change is a good thing, but in reality all that it means is that something you didn’t want to happen happened, and you had no control over it whatsoever. You can become so accustomed to something and then in an instant it’s altered, as is your heart. It’s that way with breakups, and I recently felt that when my shop closed. Did I ever tell you that? No, I didn’t...well that was my business. I owned a shop, a lovely one that was so charming it filled me with joy every time I stepped inside it, but I’m sure that’s mostly due to the memories I had in it. You see, it was my mother’s shop before mine, and I loved it, I grew up in it while she grew old in it. I hoped to do the same thing and give it to my child, but that clearly wasn’t meant to be._

 

_When I first started talking to you, which seems like years ago, I was sure I had my entire life planned out. Of course there would be problems here and there, but it would be a decent, small life. Now I have nothing, and I’m lost and confused in the forest of life._

 

_I also apologize for not writing. I have a terrible cold and it’s  taken me twenty minutes just to write this._

 

Loki hit Send and fell asleep moments later, snoring heavily in his sickly state.

 

The next afternoon as Loki firstly woke up, there was a buzz at his door, forcing him to stumble to the intercom and press the large button on it, “Who on earth is it?”

 

“Tony Stark,” came the reply, his voice gaining a more robotic tone through the machine.

 

“Why are you here?”

 

“To see how you are. I heard you were sick.”

 

“Where did you hear that?”

 

“Bucky and Amora were talking about it, they work for me now. Can I come up?”

 

“I see...well I don’t think you should come up, that’s a terrible idea in fact, I’m horribly sick really. You’ll die if you enter my flat, I’m sure of it.” Loki covered his  mouth to keep from shouting in surprise as a loud knock sounded from his door, the man looking through the peephole to see Tony standing  there, holding a bouquet of daisies, most likely having followed someone into the building. It was adorable and thoughtful, and made Loki happy while also being furious.

 

“Please let me in. I have a present for you.”

 

“Fine, brace yourself,” Loki sighed, opening the door with a tissue pressed to his nose, “enter.”

 

Tony looked around for a moment, taking in the simple place Loki occupied, which would have been spotless as well if it weren’t for his cold forcing him to use tissues all around the house. There’s the soft murmur of a voice coming from the bedroom, causing Tony to ask, “Is someone else here? Is Fandral here?”

 

“No, no, we broke up,” Loki waved his hand in the air, seeming to wave the notion of Fandral being anywhere near him while he’s sick away, “that’s the home shopping network.”

 

“Thinking about buying porcelain dolls?”

 

“Kittens actually, and yes. I was thinking about it. But now I probably already missed the sale because of you. Now I’ll never have the Kitty Wishes set,” Loki smiled briefly, enjoying the startled laugh from Tony. It was strange to make the enemy amused with something that wasn’t his own failure.

 

“I like your pajamas by the way.”

 

“Thank you,” Loki responded, looking down at the snowflake pajamas he worse, feeling too cold to wear his regular pajamas at this point. “Are those flowers my present?”

 

“Yes,” Tony handed the bouquet over, Loki looking at the flowers almost affectionately and cursing  his illness for making it impossible to enjoy their scent.

 

“I’ll put these in a vase,” he took the  bouquet to the kitchen, grabbing a vase from his cabinet and filling it with a bottle of water, “so why exactly are you here? You put me out of business and bring me flowers. Is it to gloat?”

 

“No, it’s not, I promise. But I must ask, what do you intend to do now?"

 

“Well Christine offered me a writer’s position-”

 

“My former?

“Former? You broke up?”

 

“Yes, we did.”

  
“That’s too bad, you seemed so perfect for each other,” Loki bit his lip after speaking, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to say things like that. It’s so childish of me.”

 

 

“I know, you just see me and things like that fly out of your mouth, right?”

 

“Yes, I’m sorry. Let’s start over. Thank you for coming. I think you should leave though.”

 

“No, you’re obviously in trouble,” Tony responded, pulling out a kitchen chair and having Loki drop into it, “I’ll make you tea, all right?” He went over to the stove, putting the already filled kettle on a burner, Loki having intended to make tea before he fell asleep.

 

“How is Bucky? Amora too?”

 

“They’re both great, they’re making sure everyone in their departments live and breathe literature. I think they’re doing it for you.” Tony sets the vase on the table, Loki smiling gently at the flowers again.

 

“I love daisies. They’re happy flowers, aren’t they?”

 

“Yeah, they are. You told me before too, that they’re your favorite, that’s why I chose them.”

 

“Thank you,” Loki said quietly, wondering why Tony would have remembered something so trivial about him, “when did you and Christine break up?”

 

“A couple weeks a go.”

 

“That’s so strange. Spring is meant for love, but everyone is breaking up. You, me, and this other man I know, he broke up with someone in an elevator. He was the one I waiting for in the cafe, when I was behaved so-”

 

“Charmingly?”

 

“Hush, I was not charming and I feel absolutely terrible about it.”

 

“Well you looked charming that night,” Tony smiles as the kettle whistles, grabbing the tea packet beside the stove and adding it into the cup, everything having been set out before Loki was attacked by exhaustion. “Here you go,” Tony set the cup in front of Loki, having added three spoonfuls of sugar to his surprise.

 

“Thank you, Tony. You’re being disgustingly kind, am I about to get evicted? Is this all a cruel prank?”

 

“No, I just want to apologize for being such a constant ass, I really am sorry. I was horrible that night too.”

 

“You were, but I had no excuse to be. I was angry and felt alone so I attacked you.”

 

“Does that mean that I’m just naturally horrible and have no excuse for behaving that way?”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant! I am simply saying that I am done being horrible, even to you.”

 

“You’re doing it again.”

 

“Hush.”

 

“Don’t worry, I ruined your business, you’re entitled to hate me.”

 

“I-I don’t hate you…”

 

“You’ll never forgive me, will you though? Just like Elizabeth.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Elizabeth Bennet. She was too proud….or was it the other way around? That Mr. Darcy was too proud?”

 

“I thought you hated that book.”

 

“I don’t. And you know, it wasn’t personal-”

 

“I know, believe me I know, it wasn’t personal it was just business. I hate that phrase though. All that phrase means is that it’s not personal to the one destroying the other. The store was my livelihood, it was completely personal to me. It was personal to a lot of people, and what’s so wrong with that anyway?”

 

“Nothing’s wrong with it, Loki.”

 

“Good,” Loki sipped his tea, enjoying it for a moment before he raised a brow, “now why exactly are you here again?”

 

“I want to try and be your friend, Loki. I knew it wasn’t possible, but I wanted to try-”

 

“No, no, it’s possible, and I accept. We can try to be friends.”

 

Tony smiled the most genuine smile Loki had ever seen, the man sitting up a bit straighter in the seat he had occupied, “Now that we’re friends, I have to ask: what happened to the guy from the cafe?”

 

“Nothing. Nothing at all happened.”

 

“What? But you’re crazy about him. Why don’t you two run off together?”

 

“I am crazy about him, but, god this sounds so foolish, I don’t actually know him.”

 

“You don’t know him? Let me guess, you know him through the Internet, from Talk2Me or something, right?”

 

“Yes, that’s exactly it,” Loki begins to move away, cheeks flushing now from the cold and embarrassment.

 

“Well change that, meet him. No, don’t meet him, that’s silly.”

 

“I don’t think I need relationship advice from someone who-” Loki was cut off by Tony clasping his hand over his mouth, his other hand in Loki’s messy hair, intimate and strangely sexual for the past enemies.

 

“I understand that I bring out the absolute worst in you, but let me help, let me make everything work out, alright? Now I’m going to go.”

 

Loki nodded from behind his hand, Tony soon slowly pulling it away, “Goodbye then...thank you for the daisies.”

 

“Of course, take care.”

 

“Thank you, I will.” The door shut quietly, Loki staring at it for a  long while with his cup of tea, heart fluttering in his chest.

 

 

____

  


_To: IM152_

 

_From: Shopkitty:_

 

_Subject: Once Again_

 

_I’ve been mulling it over in my mind again and again, which leads me to state that I think we should meet. For real._

 

_To: Shopkitty_

 

_From: IM152_

 

_Subject: Of course_

 

_We will, I promise. Just not now, because I’m in the middle of a project, that needs...tweaking._

 

 

____

  


“Tweaking? That was his exact word?” Tony asked, sounding aggravatingly amused as they set together in Starbucks, a few days later. Both had already been talking quite a bit, already growing closer, much to Loki’s surprise.

 

“Yes, he said tweaking.”

 

“He’s married. That’s it, and he’s in the middle of a divorce.”

 

“That’s a terrible thing to say! He’s not married, there’s no way.”

 

“Have you ever asked?”

 

“No, because that’s rude!”

 

Tony shrugged before heading to the bathroom, which Loki took the chance to open the Talk2Me app.

 

_I’m sure this is late and a little foolish to ask, but are you married?_

 

It took a week to finally get an answer from him, Loki spending his time with Tony as he anxiously waited for the response.

 

_What? Why would you ask me that? Let me guess, your friends are worried about you meeting some guy you met on the Internet, so now they’re making you ask all these questions to try to “tie up loose ends”. Are they saying that’s why we haven’t met yet too? That it’s because of me being married?_

 

 

____

  


“So he didn’t really answer?”

 

“No, he did, he answered in his own way. He did that by nailing me, he knew exactly what I was up to, which is just like him. He’s amazing.”

 

“Well how did his own way answer then?”

 

Loki paused briefly, chewing his lower lip as Tony got them popcorn in the park, “He didn’t really...he didn’t answer. Shit, I’m an idiot.”

 

“Maybe he’s a total manwhore, and that number in his username, 152, is for the number of people in his harem?”

 

“Don’t be such an ass!” Loki laughed, taking a hand-full of popcorn.

 

“Or maybe he has 152 hours until his parole he’s out of prison and placed on parole?”

 

“I will slap you if you continue this,” Loki promised, eating another handful.

 

 

____

  


Tony continued anyway, still guessing at it hours later as he and Loki walked through the market in town, “the combined number of his college test scores?”

 

“Perhaps it’s his IQ?” Loki responded, smiling at the raised brow Tony gave him.

 

“The number of crimes he’s committed.”

 

“The number of times he’s seen the Godfather.”

 

“Now that is the best thing I’ve heard about this guy,” Tony grinned, stopping with Loki at a stand. He was immediately able to choose the vegetable Loki would want to get, causing the man to smile sweetly at him.

 

“Honestly, the only thing I care about besides the jail or marriage possibility, is the boat thing I have.”

 

“The boat thing?” Tony asked, crossing his arms as Loki looked for more vegetables to choose.

 

“Oh I just...I could never date someone with a boat, I don’t think. It seems so arrogant to me, to have something to go across the water in, especially in New York. How often would he even use it besides to show off?”

 

Tony seemed to pout for a moment, “Well, I can understand what you’re saying. I could never date someone who liked Bon Iver.”

 

Loki’s cheeks flushed, thinking back to the times he’d said he’d enjoyed the music. “I suppose we all have our own little thing, don’t we?”

 

 

____

  


Loki and Tony walked back from the last errand Loki had the next door, having bought apples, “We’re meeting tomorrow.”

 

“You are? Aren’t you worried?”

 

“Of course I am,”  Loki laughed softly , soon smiling at him, “But I’m excited too.”

 

“What if he’s Mister 152-felonies like I guessed?”

 

“No, he won’t be, he’s more...Mister 152-insights into my soul. Oh god, I’m sounding idiotic. Either way, I’m excited, Tony, wish me luck, all right?”

 

“Of course, I hope for the best between you two. But...”

 

“Yes?” Loki asked, stopping in front of his complex door.

 

“Nothing, since we’ve been bumping into each other so much, would you like to do it one last time tomorrow before you’re all his? For lunch?”

 

“I’d love to. Pick me up at noon, all right? You choose the place.”

 

 

____

  


Loki was distracted the whole time, staring out the window or poking at the sandwich he’d ordered at the cafe. Tony soon giving up in talking and taking Loki home so he could get ready. “What if he’s...the zipper man?” He eventually asked, a hand on Loki’s lower back.

 

“The what?”

 

“The zipperman. The man that repairs and makes zippers. I know a guy like that. You’d never have to buy luggage again and he could always fix your jeans.”

 

“Stop teasing,” Loki honestly giggled, looking up at him.

 

“But he could be an absolute moron, which he must be for putting this off for so long,  but he just kept it up, knowing that eventually you wouldn’t be able to love anyone besides him now.”

 

“That could be. And if it’s the case, it worked.”

 

“He’s lucky...sometimes, I wonder. If I hadn’t been StarkBooks and you hadn’t been the Shop Around the Corner-”

 

“Don’t do this…”

 

“I know I would have asked for your phone number immediately, and I wouldn’t have been able to wait one day before calling you, and asking, no more like begging, for you to say yes as I asked ‘how about a coffee, movie, dinner, drinks, for as long as we both shall live?’ Ridiculous as it sounds, I would ask it.”

 

“Tony…” Loki gently stroked his cheek.

 

“If that were the case, then we would have never been at war, and the only thing we would ever argue about would be which movie to watch on Friday night.”

 

“Who fights about that? That’s foolish.”

 

“You’re right, we wouldn’t, we’d figure it out without arguments.”

 

“I have to go, I’m running late.”

 

“Just tell me one last thing,” Tony grabbed Loki’s hand, keeping him in place, “Tell  me why you can forgive him for standing you up and never explaining why, but you can’t forgive me for accidentally taking away your business.”

 

“I already forgave you, don’t act like you didn’t notice,” Loki smiled, “Goodbye, Tony. I’ll see you later.”

 

“Okay, good luck.”

 

____

  


Loki shakes as he stands in the park, nervousness wracking his mind and body as people pass casually around him. He begins counting down the seconds in his anxiousness, only to go rigid in shock as he hears the jingle of a dog collar and a beautifully familiar voice shout,

 

“Jarvis! Jarvis wait!” The golden retriever was barrelling through the park, soon slowing to a trot when he came to Loki, tail wagging and grayed muzzle open in what resembled a knowing smile.

 

“Hello,” Loki spoke softly, tears budding in his eyes as he gently leaned down and took Jarvis’ blue collar and leash.

 

“I think you have my dog,” Tony spoke just as quietly when he walked up, slipping his hand over Loki’s own trembling one. “Thanks, he’s always running after attractive strangers.” A worried look came over his face as Loki lifted his head, sniffling softly as his tears finally bloomed over and dribbled down his flushed cheeks.

 

“I wanted it to be you, I so badly wanted it to be you. As much as I hated you in the beginning, you ended up getting into my heart, without buying your way in like the bastard you are,” Loki was laughing and crying, body still trembling.

 

“Now, now, don’t cry ShopKitty, I hate it when you’re upset,” Tony’s hands gently tilt Loki’s head up even more and he presses their mouths together, Loki shuttering against him.

 

“You knew since the cafe, didn't you?” he murmured, smiling gently as Tony wiped away the lingering tears.

 

“I did know. I’m sorry I stood you up-”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“-and I’m sorry I ran you out of business and-”

 

“It’s fine, you utter fool, I told you I forgave you, now kiss me again,” Loki laughed, bringing their lips together again, even more passionate this time as Jarvis happily lept around them.

 

 

____

  


It’d only taken a month of Tony’s gentle persuasion for Loki to finally move in with him, and another month for everything to finally be settled in a manner they labeled perfect. Which surely any other person would call it as well, with their seemingly endless shelves of books, their chairs and couch with designated spots, and their matching mugs. The two were hopelessly happy together.

 

“How’s the novel coming along?” Tony asked, pressing a kiss to the back of Loki’s neck, a place that always made him shudder in delight.

 

“I’m doing well enough.”

 

“Stuck again, huh?”

 

“Yes, I just don’t know what Antonious is going to do next to save the land.” Loki smiled when he heard Tony’s surprised laugh, looking up at his (he still couldn’t believe it) boyfriend with knowing eyes. “Do you like the hero’s name?”

 

“I love it, it’s perfect. What’s his companion’s name? What’s his mission?”

 

“His equal’s name is the mage Lockely, and his mission is to free his land from the hands of the cruel and greedy king Obadiah. It’s the destiny of the Iron Knight.”

 

“Is there true love in this fairytale?” Tony asked, slipping his arms around Loki’s body and tugging him into his chest, looking over his shoulder at the laptop’s screen. Chapter XVI was showing, the number being the only thing really written on the page.

 

“You’re such a sap, but of course there is,” Loki turned his head to press a kiss to Tony’s cheek, “between the unlikely pair of Lockely and Antonious. Nothing too descriptive though, we need to keep people guessing.”

 

“You mean keep idiots somewhat satisfied?”

 

“Precisely,” Loki laughed, gazing up into Tony’s chocolate eyes, thinking back to the times he’d wondered what the man behind the screen looked like, still amazed that this was him, “But I do need to research some more. I need first  hand experience of their intimacy, even if it won’t be written.”

  
“I will gladly provide you with such valuable information,” the brunette purred into Loki’s ear, sweeping him up into his arms and carrying him to their bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> It got super fluffy at the end there, but I hope you don't mind~ And I hope you don't mind the lack of sexytimes XD
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> You can find me on tumblr under the name GrinningFlowers as well!
> 
> Characters and original You've Got Mail story belong to the respective owners


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